I'm Not a Criminal, Are You?... Prove It!

Today I was forced to prove I wasn't a criminal. No, not to the FBI, the Overland Park Police Department or even the 80-year-old security officer at the mall. I had to provide irrefutable evidence of my upstanding citizenship by furnishing a copy of my driver's license to a LENDER!

This company is not just any lender, though... definitely not a "mom & pop" mortgage shop. It happens to be subsidiary of one of the largest lenders in the US. Let's call them "Company A." I was informed that without proof of my "good guy status," we would be unable to close.

At first, I was somewhat irritated because my financial stake in this transaction is limited to my compensation as a licensed Realtor so I couldn't understand what they would need with MY identification. [Clarification: I am the LISTING AGENT in this situation.] That initial frustration was soon replaced by confusion after I was unable to receive a satisfactory explanation about the situation.

After an hour or so of being unable to determine what was going on, I was finally able to contact one of my trusted mortgage professionals, who just happens to work for "Company A." He chuckled as I explained my predicament and said that he has been hearing quite a few similar stories lately. 

In a nutshell, someone with my name is on the Federal Housing Administration "blacklist" or whatever they call it. According to my trusted professional, the list is filled with serious FHA offenders including a number of felons. To cover its behind, the lender needs my identification to ensure that I (Good Jonathan) am not the person on the list (Bad Jonathan). In the end, it actually made sense to me.

However, if this list is anything like the TSA's "No-Fly" list I'm going to have to prove I'm not "Bad Jonathan" for the rest of my real estate career. That's very, very unfortunate.

Has anyone else been asked to provide identification while acting solely as an agent?